How can one not see the madness?

Anyways, sometimes I come across posts that blow my mind. Here is one:

Quote:
I have been inundated with bad thoughts most recently. I appreciate the airport analogy~ don't let them land. Certainly, we have all had thoughts that seem totally unattached to our current lives and what is really happening around us. Though it is true that there are times when the enemy of our souls hurls evil thoughts into our heads (flaming darts) that are not our own idea.

How can people not see the madness that this is? How could someone who believes this function normally? To me, its really scary to think that there are people who can have a disconect from reality to this degree because of a religious book.

I mean, if someone said something like this outside of the context of religion, wouldn't they be forced on medications? If I said this to a medical doctor and changed it a little to be

Quote:
Elvis hurls evil thoughts into our heads (flaming darts) that are not our own idea.

Wouldn't I be diagnosed with schizophrenia? How does it make sense that I would be medicated for saying that instead of the original post, when there is a bit more plausibility to the second quote since I can give evidence that Elvis actually existed at some point?

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An individual who exists within the %14 of the populace below the ‘85’ threshold marked on this bell curve.

Consider a child with an IQ in this range, being born into a family of religious zealots, who were all previously born to religious zealots and so on. The child’s parents, grandparents, etc for generations were all of this upbringing and all explanations sought as a child were answered with religious lunacy. Mixing mostly with like minded people and authoritative figures throughout their upbringing, he/she has been raised to know nothing else. They have been shielded from factual information, scientific methodology, probability, biology, history and all the rest, way into their teens by attending religious schools, attending church etc.

This individual eventually finds their way to the internet and discussion forums, computers these days are pretty user friendly and almost any dingbat can operate one to a certain degree. ( perhaps only in the lower two echelons of the mentioned curve may you encounter problems )

On the internet this individual is drawn to what they know, or what makes sense to them, which is religious dogma. You then, are the benefactor of their wisdom, as they open up and allow you a peek into their mindset.

"How could someone who believes this function normally?"

I'm speculating again, but I'd have to say that within the circles these people mix in, this is considered normal.

In a way this kind of brainwashing helps me out. There's less people available to employ with an ability to gather relevant information, analyse objectively, reason, and act in a way which is considered valuable to companies who are willing to pay out the big $$$

Though it is true that there are times when the enemy of our souls hurls evil thoughts into our heads (flaming darts) that are not our own idea.

Yet, these people have no problem hurling their own acquired beliefs into the heads of children.
The children didn't come up with the idea of heaven and hell, damnation, or any of the other religious mumbo jumbo.
The children of religious zealots will often be bombarded with propaganda that their parents or elders feel is in their "best" interest.
In many cases, their lives will be programmed by the beliefs they acquired at an early age.
That's the whole purpose of Sunday school.
If a person were to assign their neurosis to "other beings", they would be classified as mentally disturbed, but if they assign it to a popular religion, they are declared to be "deeply spiritual".
It's basically a world where popular or appealing acquired beliefs will trump objectivity almost every time.

If we didn't give religion an exception to psychological testing (as Deaken pointed out), most "fanatics and fundamentalists" would be sitting in puffy white rooms, rocking back and forth and talking to themselves about some dead guy called "Jesus" or something.....